


Your Earthly Tether - Part II

by basedporrim



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-03-31 08:10:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3970462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basedporrim/pseuds/basedporrim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part II of the second-person narrative!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The continuation of my work in progress... As mentioned in Part I I'll be spacing out the submissions more, so for now enjoy this short prologue of what's to come!

174 AG

By the third year of Avatar Korra's absence, the air nomads had become the rightful keepers of balance and peace in the known world.  
You join them on Air Temple Island shortly after Kuvira's departure, bidding Suyin and Zaofu a bittersweet yet surely temporary goodbye.  
Much to your surprise, with Kuvira's conquest starting from Ba Sing Se, every earth city she'd landed in thus far followed in unity to be annexed into her empire. Her citizens called her The Great Uniter for this reason.  
Kuvira's empire secured footholds for Prince Wu's reign, as they were in agreement that Kuvira would surrender power to him after the empire was reunited. She was only to be a provisionary head for the Kingdom.  
You never heard from her, nor did you see her since you left her apartment three years ago, though her name nowadays carried heavy political influence. Looking in retrospect, you wish you'd have handled the news of her departure differently. It wasn't like you to reprimand her decisions and lack faith in her, but you couldn't help but feel wary of the world outside of Zaofu. You never did get to leave the city often.

The state of Yi secured Kuvira's Empire to ninety percent of land, and not long after was Prince Wu's coronation in Republic City. Also attending was Suyin (with whom you share a heartfelt greeting), among other world leaders, and none other than The Great Uniter herself. You're not mandated to attend, though you feel it's only right that you do. You owe it to yourself to see Kuvira’s progress, and see her in the flesh.  
On the outskirts of the bleachers and in your hooded garb, you keep yourself well-hidden in the thick masses of spectators. The ceremony is short, and Wu is adorned with a royal family pin to commence his rule.  
He thanks his supporters, asking Kuvira to stand and receive her well-deserved credit. She does, takes a bow, and is granted the Kyoshi Medal Of Freedom for her service.  
There she was; your heart leaps into your stomach and back up, from joy in seeing she was alive and well, but her aura gave you unpleasant chills from fifty yards away. This didn't look quite like Kuvira. The Great Uniter's stoic expression didn't break for the duration of the ceremony so far, not even when she received her award. Her face was no longer soft nor innocent, but instead as steely as the armor she wore. Those eyes had seen war.  
She and Wu exchange a word, and much to your surprise, she takes to the microphone for a speech.  
You've only ever heard this tone of voice from her three years ago, when she advocated for either Suyin or herself to claim power for the Earth Kingdom. Now she had become that politician entirely. She maintains a perfectly straight posture, barely moving.  
She begins by claiming Suyin's reign of Zaofu was proof that monarchies are outdated, concluding that the time for kings and queens is at an end and that Wu held no true power.  
Time stops, your muscles weaken, and ice shoots up your spine. The voice in your head is pleading with her: No. Kuvira, don't do it.

_“I have created a new Earth Empire, and I will continue to lead it into the future myself, bringing about a new era of prosperity for my people...”_

Handfuls of the crowd erupt into cheers. _“We love you, Kuvira!” “All hail The Great Uniter!”_

 _“.. And let me assure my fellow leaders of one thing:”_  
She rips the Kyoshi medal off her neck effortlessly, levitating it just above her grasp,  
_“Anyone who crosses our borders or stands in our way will be **crushed**.”_  
Her fist closes, and the medal crumples in midair like aluminum foil. It falls pathetically to her feet.

Flashbulbs illuminate her figure, nearly blindind from the glares off of her armor. She remains idle, reveling in the applause.  
You were right. You regret ever having doubted your judgement.


	2. Chapter 2

With Wu off the throne and a fresh ego fueling her, Kuvira sets her sights now to Zaofu. You return to your hometown with Suyin long before Kuvira could get there.  
The two of you arrive late in the afternoon to eager welcomes from the citizens. It hasn't changed much since you’d left for Air Temple Island.  
The matriarch asks to speak with you in private, sparing no time as you follow her to her quarters in the estate. She opens a pair of cabinets at the far end of the room, and the setting sun catches it just right as it is as lustrous as the petals that guard Zaofu at night.  
She doesn't say a word, her hands delicately removing what looks like a metal orb from a deep green backdrop. Her back is to you, though you can tell she studies it intently.  
Finally she speaks. "I knew this day would have to come."  
You choose your words carefully. "Kuvira wasn't bluffing about taking Zaofu, was she?"  
Suyin steps to the side of the cabinet and turns to you, revealing the platinum pauldron in her grasp and the vambraces in the cabinet. Being an unbendable material, you can only guess the finest craftsmen in Zaofu made them with tools.  
The deep green fabric is in the style of an air monk's tunic.  
Suyin's face is pained, though her voice holds strong. "I'll need a captain."  
The realization of her intentions hits you, and you bow. "You have one."

  
That night, Kuvira's fleet docks practically at the foot of Zaofu. As precautionary measures, you see to it that the walls remain closed twenty-four seven.  


The Avatar's return is heralded in by an awkwardly-flying air bison, carrying not only she, but Tenzin's eldest daughter and Opal as well. Better late than never, you suppose, as Korra's mediating would have been helpful about three years ago. But you don't blame her. You can't imagine how difficult her recovery must have been.  
Patrolling the estate grounds, you overhear the Avatar speaking with Suyin: "... Maybe I can reason with her."  
Suyin's tone is bitter, unforgiving. "Kuvira doesn't listen to reason."  
Good, you think. Good riddance. She'll get what's coming to her.  
The rational side of your brain intervenes, saying no, Korra's right, as maybe Kuvira just needs a good talking to.  
Regardless of what the Avatar chooses to do, you know you have only one opportunity to speak to Kuvira yourself. 

Night falls on the valley of Zaofu, and you sneak out of the city through the tunnels leading outside. Your hooded tunic covers your armor as well as most of your face, and you don't risk taking your air glider into Kuvira's camp, should the full moon catch any part of you in the dark.  
Instead you make your way through the nearby forests to find a more direct route and cling to the shadows, dodging patrol lights until you find the largest metal tent. An Earth Empire banner hangs before the door.  
You barely have any words prepared; you're honestly surprised you made it this far.  
You steal a last glance behind you, and decide to raise your fist to knock.  
Your knuckles barely meet the metal when it slides open nearly silently.  
It is opened from the inside by metalbending. Your heart catches in your throat.  
From deep in the shadows steps a slightly-less-shadowy figure, not quite meeting the light of the moon. It steps aside, and greets you with your name, speaking with the same husky voice as The Great Uniter. Your name sounds almost foreign from the woman.  
"Please, come in." She steps aside, further into the room, and allows you to enter.


	3. Chapter 3

You're hypnotized by fear and resolve. This is something that needed to be done.  
You step inside, slowly, and remove your hood.  
The metal door behind you closes, sealing you in the tent with the dictator. Though she's dressed casually in a simple sleeveless robe as opposed to battle armor, you feel claustrophobic, but you slow your breathing and manage to relax as your eyes adjust to the darkness, only illuminated by a single lantern by a cot against the far wall, where her polished armor rests. A war map of the Earth Kingdom hangs on the wall, mostly colored green save for Zaofu, Republic City and two or three smaller territories.  
"Congratulations on mastering the airbending arts," The new tattoos on your head and hands being the first thing she notices before she turns to retrieve a pot of tea, already boiling. Two teacups are positioned beside the little camper stove.  
You take a seat on the floor, lotus-style before her. "You knew I'd come?"  
She answers calmly, slowly pouring an even amount of tea into both cups. "It wouldn't be like you otherwise. You are as sentimental as you are predictable."  
She meets you on the floor, sitting across from you as you're given a cup of tea, both of which seem to have Earth Empire decals on them.  
You decide to cut to the chase.  
"I'm not here for sentimentality, and I'm certainly not here for a fight. No bending, no nothing. I just want to talk."  
"And here I thought we might have been able to bond over a cup of tea."  
You breathe out a short laugh through your nose, smiling wide. She returns the grin, the birthmark beneath her eye crinkling up as it always did when she smiled. She had always been very lean as a dancer, but three years of military conquest have built some noticeable muscle mass as well as chiseling out a fine jawline and cheekbones.  
There was no bonding to be done. You know there's no changing her mind. And she knows you know you can't change her mind.  
No, this visit isn't about Zaofu, though you will try to save it. It became personal as soon as she let you into her tent.  
You open the floor for discussion on the city regardless. "Kuvira, I really underestimated you. You reunited the entire Earth Kingdom in three years, and I had doubts about just Ba Sing Se. I was wrong."  
" _Nearly_ the entire Earth Kingdom," She corrects you politely.  
You're quiet for a few moments, choosing your words. "Kuvira. Zaofu is our home. You've already united what needs to be united, and annexed what needed be. Zaofu and its people will never bow to you."  
As you speak, she sips at her tea. Her brow furrows and she rests her hands in her lap, cradling the teacup. "It almost sounds as if you're asking me to give up on my campaign just as I am about nearing its end. Surely you must realize how far-fetched that sounds."  
"If it's about Suyin, I can talk to her-"  
"And we saw how successful we were with that last time."  
This wasn't Kuvira. Kuvira died long ago, and this uniter, this tyrant, took her place. But she looked exactly like her. No, she looked better, if that was even possible. The uniter, tall and lean and in her prime, could mimic that warm expression that Kuvira once wore. "I do wish things could have worked between you and I," She claims almost absent-mindedly, seeming to speak to her tea.  
"It could never have. I couldn't be enough for you."  
Like a switch, her eyes flick up to meet yours, and there's a hint of genuine pain in them. "I never asked you for anything. I took you as you were, I loved you for everything you were, and everything you did for me."  
Hearing those words from her was like a dagger rupturing your heart, having been hidden for years. The words you once could never tell her came rushing back to you. "I couldn't give my allegiance to your cause, unlike Baatar -- he went with you like a lost polar bear-dog puppy. I saw the woman you were becoming. I saw what truly mattered to you, and how passionate you were about taking control of the Kingdom. I knew I couldn't ever fulfill that. You... became this power-hungry creature. You said some things and did some things that I really, really hated. You hurt a lot of people."  
Her temples pulse as she clenches her jaw.  
"... But Spirits begone if I ever hated you, Kuvira."  
Your tea grows cold.  
Kuvira purses her lips, not meeting your eyes. "My own parents tossed me aside when I was young. Like I was nothing. How could I let the same thing happen to my homeland, when it needed guidance the most?"  
"You did guide it, but ultimately with too firm a grasp. It's not a sign of weakness to know when to let go."  
"So tell me: What do you know of letting go?"  
"I had to let go of you, Kuvira, at least the woman you used to be." Tears well up in your eyes. "I still have to. I lost a lot of faith in you from your actions. But I know you're still in there, somewhere inside this... this politician."  
She scoffs, though it seems unintentional. "Then you see, it's more easily said than done to just... give up on something you invested so much time and love into."  
You take a sip of your tea, not thinking twice if she had poisoned it. You know she wouldn't have. It's not like her politically nor personally.  
"I was always taught that everything is impermanent. It's part of my culture to recognize the futility of attachment. It's only through letting go of what binds us to this earth that we become truly free."  
Her eyes narrow. You can tell she listens intently, though you know such a philosophy is unlike her ways of thinking.  
"What keeps you here, Kuvira?"  
Even in the dark, her eyes glow with pride. "My people depend on me. Certainly you saw at the coronation how much the world prefers my protection and provisions to that child king."  
Your blood turns to ice. She had always been a step ahead of you, like she truly had eyes across her entire Empire. She knew you had seen her usurp power from Wu.  
"Your subjects and your prisoners," You correct her, "Fear you and your re-education camps, Spirits forbid they're not native to your Kingdom or don't obey your ideals. This is what you've become. Your life, your reign, your Empire is all impermanent. You will go down in history as a tyrant and a dictator, and an example of how politicians should never become."  
"My name will be remembered as the woman who restored everlasting peace and balance to the Earth Kingdom capital, and all the land it entails as the world knows it. Clearly you're critical of my methods, but don't sell me out as a tyrant."  
"Clearly, your over-zealousness has blinded you to the suffering of the people you've stepped on in your wake, the same people you claim to love so dearly. As much as you deny it, the ends will never justify your means. I've seen what happens to cities that don't hand their power to you on a silver platter."  
"So you know what's in store for Zaofu."  
You exhale out your nose and fix your posture, only now realizing you'd been leaning forward almost aggressively.  
The two of you finish your tea in silence. She collects your cups and leaves them beside the burner, though she doesn't return to sit with you. Instead she paces the floor in front of you, slowly, and you can tell she has more to say. Her bare feet pad gently across the steel floor.  
The light from the lantern catches the curvature of the muscles in her arms; you catch yourself staring. Indeed, now in her mid-twenties she was in her prime and she radiated energy, calm as she was.  
You think she reads your mind when suddenly she pauses, flicks her eyes very quickly over your figure that most people would likely miss, and closes her eyes, seeming perplexed.  
You assume she's relishing your image, though you wished it weren't so.  
She exhales a sharp breath through her nose, smiling for a moment, pacing now around the floor behind you.  
"Perhaps not all is lost for Zaofu as an independent city. Perhaps... I may indeed be reasoned with." You hear a smile through the end of her sentence. The air grows thick, and what feels like claustrophobia comes creeping back into your bones. You're almost certain she must feel your muscles trembling slightly through the floor.  
She continues. "And though as much of a conqueror that I am, more importantly I'm a most generous and merciful woman."  
"You're deluded," You manage to keep your voice even.  
Her footsteps stop directly behind you. "You're not unfamiliar with my generosity firsthand." It's a low blow to your heartstrings, but you don't show it.  
The entire time you refused to stand, to do so much as move more than needed to drink your tea. It was peace and compassion and humility you had attempted to convey.  
All that was as lost as Kuvira was in this dictator.  
You had done what you came to do, you tried your hand at reasoning with her. It was time to go.  
Your ears perk up at the faintest sound of the woman's fists clenching just behind you, and instinctively you propel yourself in an arc above her only to be caught in the throat by a vicegrip. In the next instant your back slams into the steel floor, knocking all breath out of you. You're disoriented, and bits of steel curl up from the floor, holding you down by your wrists all before you can get your bearings.  
Kuvira kneels gracefully beside you. She hadn't broken a single sweat.  
"It'd be impolite to leave before hearing the terms of my offer."  
"Look," You gasp in a quick breath for air, though you keep your voice calm, "Just let me go, Kuvira, and you won’t see me nor hear from me again. I've already reduced myself to practically nothing, just to try and see you reconsider your end game. I have no idea who you are anymore, and I have nothing left to give you."  
You're defeated, and growing slowly more afraid.  
The Great Uniter brushes the back of her hand very gently alongside your face. You nearly shiver at the touch.  
For a moment, her voice is soft, peaceful and familiar: "We both know that's not entirely true."


	4. Chapter 4

As of this moment, you never knew Kuvira to bluff. Zaofu was in danger of her reign, so any offer she presented would have to seem at least feasible.  
The air between the two of you feels electrically charged and warm. You strain your wrists helplessly against the metal and grit your teeth. "What more can I possibly give?"  
Her face is blank, though she takes her time letting her eyes trail down your figure. "It's been a while since I've had an airbender..." Her eyebrow twitches up, and she meets your eyes again, " ... Among my troops." She resolves.  
Her eyes narrow, and she continues as if thinking aloud to herself. Her tone is professional, not unlike a surgeon plotting out an operation: "Yes... Yes you'd make a fine diplomat. A natural peacemaker, don't necessarily like quarrel. And perhaps we can build you a strong backbone yet, just enough so world leaders won't try to step all over you."  
To anyone else, the offer would seem generous. You ignore the verbal blow to your backbone.  
For a moment you imagine traveling the Earth Empire in Kuvira's fleet, negotiating terms of her rule with world leaders and politicians, perhaps even negotiating with her as to the elimination of re-education camps and loosening her grip on the Empire, if even slightly.  
You could single-handedly change the course of her reign, and history.  
She must have seen the wheels in your brain work at the thought, as she moves to kneel between your legs. She raises her fists and opens them out on either side of her.  
The metal around your wrists unfurl at the same time.  
You brace yourself up by your elbows.  
Her eyes are genuine, pleading almost. "It's a lot to consider, I know. But I'd be honored to welcome you back under my service. I'd love to see how much you've learned and grown." A hint of an eager smile plays across her lips.  
It's more tempting with every word. And if it meant saving Zaofu, it was likely worth it. "So you'll leave Zaofu in peace?"  
"You will be heralded as the peacemaker who kept Zaofu an independent city." She stands, making her way to her war map as she speaks to study it. "Tomorrow morning I will take every troop, every airship, and leave Zaofu and its citizens as we found them. We will not return for its land nor resources." She turns her head halfway to further address you.  
"All I ask is that you pledge your allegiance to me."  
It's a risky gamble. Accept, and Zaofu will be spared, though you figure you have a fifty-fifty shot at influencing her war ethics and the path she's on. You could potentially be joining her fleet for all but naught.  
But decline, and you walk away free, though leaving Zaofu in the uncertain power struggle between The Great Uniter and Avatar Korra.  
The Avatar had been practically off the face of the earth for three years, and Spirits only know the condition she's in.  
You think of Suyin. Of how she needed you to defend her city against Kuvira. But with this sacrifice of duty, Suyin will need no protection. First and foremost you were an airbender, and it was your duty to maintain balance in the world. This regime change would give you the foothold to do just that. You consider it unorthodox for the matriarch's standards, but viable by yours.  
You didn't want to prove Kuvira right. You didn't necessarily agree with her tactics, and you felt your allegiance would only encourage her to continue on her current path.  
It was a risk you felt willing to take.  
You move to face her, sitting upright on your folded legs. "And I'd like to see how much you've grown as well. I’ve misjudged you before, Kuvira, and maybe there's some catching up that needs to be done. I'd like to see how we can improve the world, and each other."  
She turns to face you, eyes alight with disbelief.  
You rest your hands on your lap.  
"I pledge my loyalty to you..."  
Bending smoothly at the waist, you lower yourself into a bow. "... Great Uniter."  
Her footsteps slowly make their way to where you sit. The timing feels appropriate to sit upright, and when you do, you're met with Kuvira's hand, helping you stand.  
She claps your shoulder with her free hand. "Tonight you become Zaofu's hero. You saved the city from a potentially dangerous transition. Welcome aboard, ambassador."  
A knocking from outside the tent door echoes within. Kuvira excuses herself, bending the door open to meet one of her officers, silhouetted by moonlight. He salutes, glances at you, and exchanges some near-silent words with the woman you can't pick up on. All you hear is what sounds like a defeated sigh from Kuvira.  
"Thank you, lieutenant. Return to your post, begin preparations."  
With a nod and a final salute, he turns to walk briskly to whence he came.  
The door slams shut with a clench of Kuvira's fist, more forceful than you'd expected. She paces the perimeter of the tent until she's back at the war map.  
You follow her silently with your gaze, waiting for her to speak.  
Her hand traces the outline of Zaofu on her map. Without turning, she beckons for you to join her. She's silent for a few moments, then takes a deep breath. "Ninety percent. I've seen ninety percent of the Earth Kingdom pledge their loyalty to me. Every settlement, village, town, city, every governor and leader so far..." She presses her thumb into the center of Zaofu, "... except for one."  
Calmly, to the point of it being eerie, she rests her hands behind her back. "I apologize for getting your hopes up, but as it turns out, I won't be employing your services in my army. The deal is off."  
She shifts her heel back and the floor ripples behind her before folding up into ugly, jagged layers of metal sealing the door shut. Dust and soot are kicked up from the long strip where the floor once was.  
"Word on the streets of Zaofu is that your beloved matriarch has made amends to end me herself. So for tactical reasons, you see, I can't let you leave here alive."


	5. Chapter 5

There was practically nothing you could bend in here. It was a decently-sized tent for a general, but your bending could only do so much in this space. You knew her fighting style. Any metal could easily cut through the air. The entire tent itself was steel.  
It was just a really big coffin she would use to crush you.  
"Kuvira, don't mess around." Your voice is weak.  
She turns to you, pity in her eyes, and you back away to the adjacent wall.  
She was stalking her prey, following close, and that prey was you. "I'm not joking. I understand you don't know how war works, as you've clearly never participated in any. But letting you free would only compromise my position. You've seen the infrastructure of my camp, my maps, my very tent... Who knows what you could do with that information?"  
As she speaks, she paces casually in your direction. You back away from her, though not for long before your back meets the cold metal of the wall. She stands just before you, calm and collected as ever, hands still held professionally behind her back.  
"So. Here's what I'm going to do," She begins matter-of-factly, "I'm going to keep your mouth shut so my patrol doesn't hear you cry for help, and this..." She angles her foot into the floor. A metal shard about the size of your forearm jumps into her grasp, fashioning itself into a blade, "... Is what I'm going to peel off your tattoos with so I can mail them back to Air Temple Island. You, and Suyin, will be known as prisoners of war, having conspired to assassinate a general in her own tent during a peaceful negotiation period."  
"They'll never believe-" Another unseen shard of metal clasps itself over your mouth. Immediately you propel a jet of air in front of you, and she easily sidesteps. A chunk of metal, likely from the wall, slams into the back of your head. You see stars, but use the velocity to tuck into a roll, narrowly missing a slash with the blade to your knees.  
You're right in front of the cot where her armor lays. The pieces are before you in one moment, then adhering themselves to your body in the next.  
The shoulder guards and backplate dig through your robes and into your skin, and your hands are secured behind your back by metal arm braces.  
You're forced to breathe through your nose from the metal strip across your mouth, hyperventilating.  
You're lifted from the ground and levitate to where Kuvira stands. Her powerful arms are locked in a bending stance at her torso. "The armor's a good look for you. Shame you'll never see the opportunity for your own." She lowers her arms enough to bring you to her level. "We could have been colleagues. Like old times." Her eyes fall to the metal across your mouth, and she plants a kiss on it. Somehow it doesn't surprise you, unlike the sudden sharpening of her armor against your back and shoulders. You make a pathetic attempt at cursing her out, but it's only translated to grunts and groans out through your nose.  
Kuvira pauses, breaking the kiss from the metal. "I do quite like that," as if speaking to no one in particular but herself.  
You're dropped to your knees on the cold floor, your mind reeling at her words which seem like gibberish.  
"Do it again," She sneers.   
Is this is a hallucination? Was the tea drugged? Or this a fever dream?   
One hand is pressed firmly against your backplate, tightening the sharp metal into your spine. The other grips the top of your hair and tilts your head forcefully back.  
You don't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing and hearing you suffer. But it's to no avail. Your eyes screw shut and you growl menacingly; your senses growing as sharp as the armor at your back from the adrenaline in your veins.  
It's not long before you feel the metal at your back break skin, as well as an odd, pleasantly contrasting sensation at your throat.  
It's Kuvira's lips, tracing very slowly and delicately up the side of your neck.  
You grunt, partially from pain and partially in protest of her caressing you. Rather, in protest of yourself enjoying it.  
She seems to read your mind, planting a most delicate kiss at your jawline, the only pleasant sensation in the midst of the metal death trap you wore.  
You're weakened and in pain and can't help the whimper escape your nose. It's a pitiful little noise, but it's enough for Kuvira to exhale a hot breath into your neck.  
The shoulder guards and brace around your hands loosen little by little, ultimately rattling and clinking to the floor as Kuvira inhales your essence through her mouth. Your back just about gives out to the pain when the backplate slowly dulls and flattens into smooth steel. The metal over your mouth falls soon after and you gasp in a breath, filling your lungs. Almost on cue, Kuvira's grip on your hair loosens to rest at the back of your neck. You're still catching your breath when she kisses you, this time on the lips, growing ever hungrier.  
The armor at your back falls from her grasp. Her hand instead clutches at the back of your robes.  
Your hands, now freed, shove Kuvira from you by a good foot or so with a gust of air. Her eyes are glazed and hurt, and she's breathing heavily.  
Without thinking twice, you launch a punch that lands square across her cheek. It yields a loud and satisfying smack, and you see a spray of saliva when her head swivels with the rest of her upper torso as she nearly hits the floor -- but not quite.   
Immediately she snaps back to face you, eyes wild and dumbfounded, mouth agape. It's not an expression you'd ever seen on The Great Uniter's face.  
But it looks exactly like Kuvira.  
You find your grip at the front of her tunic, pulling to kiss her so fast that your teeth bump.  
Your body acts first and your mind tries to follow, desperately catching up with your immoral actions.  
It was beyond moral and immoral, it was personal. It was hatred and passion, forgiveness and resentment.  
You tasted blood in her mouth, internally patting yourself on the back for such a well-executed punch. It was refreshing to know that she too, was only human, and bled like everyone else.  
Your robes and platinum armor underneath easily gave way to her desperate hands, not resting until there was no more to unbuckle nor unbutton, and even then she held onto you anywhere and everywhere as if for dear life.  
You feel high off the scent of her skin, still reminding you of incense and ginseng, that you don't notice your hands clawing off her tunic until she is already bare and pressed on top of you. Somewhere in the mess, the metal clasp from her braided bun comes undone. Her hair falls about her face, and it's not much longer than you remember it to be.  
Part of you recognizes Kuvira, the woman you once loved, as the woman you were with now after the layers of the Great Uniter melted away. Unfortunately, the rational part of your brain remembers Kuvira never can nor will exist again outside this instance, this moment.  
Because of Suyin, nothing you can do tonight, and possibly ever, will stop Kuvira from conquering Zaofu and reverting back to the dictator she'll become to do so. You see it as an anomaly, a glitch even, in this Great Uniter, to be so willing and open and vulnerable to be Kuvira again, especially with you.  
But you try anyway. You hold her tightly against you and kiss her deeply and do everything in your power, praying to Spirits, in hopes of banishing the greed and the corruption from her heart.   
And you remember Suyin. She knew Kuvira better than anyone, possibly better than Kuvira knew herself.  
You break the kiss, taking a hold of her face and half-open your eyes to meet hers. They're painfully warm and familiar.  
"Kuvira. She'll kill you. She'll see I'm gone, and she'll show you no mercy."  
"And what makes you think I'll be any more merciful to her?" Her voice is low, and by the middle of her sentence she's breathing against your lips, harsh as her inflection is. She nips at your bottom lip, though not to draw blood, "Or you, for that matter?"  
Being here would even compromise your own position. Should you stay, you either face your end -- though unlikely -- at Kuvira's hands, or be discovered by the matriarch as literally, sleeping with the enemy.  
Each freckle and birthmark at her torso and arms are as you remember them to be. It breaks your heart.  
You remember she's an engaged woman, and a fire ignites in your gut at how marvelously unethical this was.  
At how you took initiative for making a decision you truly wanted to make. You most certainly did have a backbone; it was there for you when you stood against Kuvira when she left for Ba Sing Se, when you were upfront with your feelings tonight, when you at least planned to set your own political path in motion to sway her, when you socked her a good one with your fist without any bending.  
But things were falling through for Zaofu. You couldn't bring yourself to end her life to save the city, as that would be the only thing to stop her from conquering it at this point.  
You take her chin to kiss her again, only more softly than before.  
It wasn't clear if she'd been bluffing about not letting you leave alive. You weren't sure if she actually would have tried to kill you in her iron maiden of armor, or if it were just a twisted idea of foreplay. It was a heart-wrenching predicament. You had to go, and you needed to buy time to plot your escape; you were pressed for time as it was, given Suyin's assassination plot nearing its execution.  
You needed the upper hand, and Kuvira didn't fight for it when you buck your hips, rolling her effortlessly onto her back. You plant your hands on her waist, straddling her so she would not move, drinking in the sight of every inch of her, your own goodbye to everything you knew her to be.  
Her shoulders, chest and cheeks blush a deep red.  
“You wouldn’t kill me.” The confidence and authority in your voice are a pleasant surprise even to you.  
The woman smirks, surely not used to being anything below the alpha. But she’s not insulted. Her hands caress your thighs, coming to rest at your hips. “You’d be surprised just how close to death I could bring you. And how long I could keep you there for.” Her tone of voice is a futile attempt at sounding stoic and merciless.  
It’s all a scare tactic. You know this, and your position atop her is unwavering.  
You’re nearly nauseated from wanting her, wanting to indulge yourself in her finely-sculpted contours and curves and corners, her sweet lips and hypnotic eyes.  
But you know such indulgences would only cost you time, and likely either your life, your rank, or both.  
It wasn’t like you to let a mission go incomplete. Tonight would have to be no different.  
It was imperative that you keep your mind on the priority.  
Though you hadn’t noticed your weight shifting between her hips, it was made clear by the shudder through Kuvira’s body that she most certainly had noticed. You steel yourself, boring your eyes through hers and trace your hand very slowly up her midsection. The following mewl through her bottom lip is nearly enough for a similar cry to escape you. But not quite.  
Instead, your body and very consciousness are triggered into entering another state; a hot, tingling wave impairs the control you do have over yourself as your vision blurs, half a moment later you’re entering an almost meditative state. It’s your third eye opening, and not many airbenders have managed to attain that state.  
You feel Suyin’s presence -- you can tell it’s her from the urgency of her energy, and the remorse beneath -- and she’s with her two younger sons.  
And they’re making their way to the same exit you took from the city.  
Panic takes you, bringing you back to full consciousness with a short gasp to conveniently match the timing of Kuvira’s thumbs creeping between your legs. She takes your reaction to heart, mistakenly crediting herself for it. Mostly mistaken, anyway, and she smirks proudly with a chuckle.  
This had gotten too far already, and if you didn’t make your move now, you would surely never leave the tent alive. You take a deep breath, savoring what you can of her, and execute your escape plan.  
Her hands were at the perfect location for you to shift forwards once more, effectively pinning them at the wrists. Immediately her smirk turns puzzled, surely unfamiliar with how she assumed you would pleasure either of the two of you.  
For half a moment you hesitate. It’s enough time for the concentration to show on your face, and in that instant her eyes widen the slightest bit in fear. She knows.  
But for once, you’re a step ahead of her. Time seems to slow for you as you draw all of your energy into your right shoulder -- you pull your arm back a fraction of an inch -- the energy enters your elbow, your forearm, then your hand.  
Time resumes when your palm makes contact with her diaphragm, immediately forcing all of her breath out of her lungs and mouth in a rush of air. It’s a lot to bend, even for a woman of her caliber, and it doesn’t take long after you clasp both hands over her nose and mouth in a vicegrip for her pupils to turn to pinpoints. All the while she struggles and thrashes like a caged dragon. Nor is it easy for you; tears cloud your vision, knowing indeed you weren’t killing her rather than simply knocking her out, but you needed to be careful.  
“I’m sorry-” It’s the only thing you can choke out past the lump in your throat.  
Her hands contort and tremble beneath you, frantic attempts to bend any scrap of metal, extinguished. Not even can she move her legs into bending positions from you being atop her. Never had she realized one day she might have her bending taken away.  
The primal fear and hatred in her eyes requires you to squeeze yours shut. You nearly release her from the guilt overtaking you, but somehow you push through, only tightening your grip on her legs, arms and mouth.  
It’s all over in only half a minute as her struggling subsides, ending with a few sparse twitches of her calves.


	6. Chapter 6

Your eyes shoot open. You don’t dare to look away from her face.  
Her eyes are shut, peaceful even, and after a few moments when you slowly peel your hands away there are white markings from where they just were, indicating blood loss. You stare long enough for the white areas to redden. With one hand you feel over her parted lips, and she’s not breathing. But you check her neck and indeed there’s still a pulse. You silently thank the Spirits, collecting the faintest gust of air between your fingers and spilling it gently into her mouth, slowly and carefully bending it down into her lungs. With a choppy, short inhale, she’s breathing on her own once more. This only buys you so much time to make your escape before she regains consciousness.  
A familiar meditative state takes control, except now you are focused and dutifully dressing yourself on autopilot as if you didn’t just asphyxiate The Great Uniter. As soon as you’re decent, you gather up her garbs and proceed to dress her in them, though she’s a bit heavy, all muscle and still with a few inches on you in height. It’s an awkward process in which you’re cursing to yourself and to her, though she can’t hear you. Or so you would hope not.  
Finally you lay her in the cot. You check the area leading to the door, still blocked; the ruptured floor keeping you from simply walking out. What a scene Suyin would find on her arrival, though it’s the least of your concerns. You make your way to the wall opposite the entrance and examine the smooth metal. It’s not stainless, again you thank the Spirits, and pray your untested hypothesis on oxidation holds true.  
Focusing all your chi again to your hands, you bend a super-fine, super-concentrated current of air to your touching fingertips and drill it into the metal. No results show for a good fifteen seconds and you’re frantically discouraged, until the small area begins to redden and rust. Yes -- you congratulate yourself, and thank the Spirits a third time tonight, naming some specifically such as Raava. The area surrounding the pinpoint follows soon after, and in no time the metal makes way to the outside air. There’s only enough time you’ve allotted yourself for an opening you can propel your body through.  
You’re met with a squadron of Kuvira’s armored mech suits on the other side. You count at least two dozen. And they’ve got themselves arranged in a curved phalanx surrounding you on all sides, surely having heard the tussle from within.  
Damn it. Damn it all. You were so very close to escape and risked so much within the last mere hour or so to save Zaofu and yourself. To save Kuvira as well.  
“Stand down. The airbender is no threat.” You're startled to hear Kuvira’s voice, echoing within the tent just behind you, unsure of how long she'd now been conscious for. It’s stern and just short of a bark, though you hear the disappointment. Your shoulders drop and you relax. It matters nothing to you should the army see the shame on your face, but you attempt at masking it in a scowl regardless.  
The two pilots in the middle, likely captains, exchange a glance before parting to make way for you to pass through. Immediately the suits in rank behind them follow. They all leave to regroup at the front of the tent. From behind you comes the sound of metal against metal, and earth being padded down. You don’t have to look to know Kuvira’s repairing the interior.  
Then you hear the hurried rustling of clothes, clinking armor and the door sliding open.  
“It’s nearly time. Bring me Zhu Li. There's a certain... _Thing_ we've discussed.”  
You grit your teeth, gazing at the edge of the forest no more than half a mile before you. Suyin was surely in the trees by now. She would feel you moving through on your way back to the city. There was no way you could return to Zaofu tonight. There was no way you could return to Zaofu at all. There was no use in trying to intercept Suyin, and you only prayed that when Kuvira countered her…  
_“...what makes you think I'll be any more merciful to her?"_  
She wouldn’t dare. It would be unethical to kill Suyin, both in character and in warfare.  
Suyin would be spared, you’re sure of it.  
So you flee. On foot, not daring to return to the city even for your glider, not once stealing a glance back. 

You flee to the nearest village past the valley, focused only on finding yourself a post office. It takes you no more than three hours with the wind literally at your back, and even in the dead of night you find one that is open. You ask to expedite the letter, realizing only then that you have no money to your name.  
The clerk notes your armor, recognizing the Beifong crest on your spaulder and says she’ll ship it first class so that it arrives by morning. With a genuine thank-you, you set your sights to the Southern Air Temple.

 

_Suyin._  
_By the time you receive this I'll have been well outside the Earth Kingdom's borders. For now it's safer you don't know where I am. But I'll return. I'll find you again, I promise._  
_My reasoning with Kuvira could only get me so far. You needed me, and I took a gamble to save Zaofu. But because of your rash decision to stop Kuvira yourself, my offer was compromised._  
_I don't approve of your actions, but I understand from where they came._  
_Please. Suyin, be patient with her. Despite everything she's done, be compassionate. The city rests in your hands, and the Avatar's._  
_Spirits protect you. All my love to you and your family._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! And what fun in making sure all loose ends were tied. Wowie. Tryina keep a self-insert behind the scenes is hard work. Also kind of ties into how we never see this mystery character in the show at all! The ending was tough too. Emotionally?? Over a fictional character??? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ But most of all, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!! Thanks for comin on this WILD RIDE (◕‿◕✿)


	7. Epilogue

176 AG  
  
"How exactly did you find me?"  
"Jinora tells me you have an unmistakable signature on the spirit plane. It wasn't too difficult for her."  
While you preferred being off the radar in regards to political matters, you couldn't help but feel proud of the girl.  
With clearance from chief Beifong and detective Mako, you closely followed master Tenzin through Republic City's maximum security prison to whence a certain inmate summoned you to appear.  
As you progressed further into the holding rooms, the steel walls became platinum; a precious, unbendable metal.  
Even a stranger to the prison itself would know who was being held this deep.  
You fear the worst for your host-to-be: Insanity, starvation, bones brittle and withering, muscles atrophying...  
The metal floor is cool and comforting beneath your bare feet. It was nearly three years ago that you were almost obliterated by the steel interior of Kuvira's tent. But the platinum you tread upon is as pure as the lightweight plates of armor atop your feet, shoulder and forearms. You hadn't the heart to rid yourself of your Zaofu captain's armor.  
For once, Kuvira would be defenseless. Not that it should matter on this visit.  
You've yet to even see her and pity already clouds your mind.  
After what feels like hours, you reach the end of the hallway where only one door stands. Sizing it up, it must be well over a hundred pounds. Small holes pepper the upper portion to allow light into the cell, and a rectangular slot near the bottom for food trays.  
However, you don't see a conventional lock or bolt on the door. In fact, you don't see any at all.  
Aside from the holes for light and trays, the door is entirely flush.  
Tenzin raises his torch higher, illuminating the upper corners of where the door meets the hallway. Two openings, shaped like the bell of an instrument, just barely stand out among the shadows. You've only ever seen these structures in Air Temple Sanctuaries.  
He notices you hesitate. "Suyin's recommendation, as homage to our people."  
"What made her come to that?"  
Only an airbender could open the door. You recall the letter you sent after you fled her city. Had she forgiven you, her old captain, for jumping ship when she'd needed you most? You'd spent so much time in solitude from Republic City and the rest of the Kingdom, Suyin probably assumed you were dead.  
"Jinora and Opal not only saved Korra, but defended Zaofu when Kuvira attacked. There's much you've missed since she'd threatened to take the city."  
So it would seem. You wondered if Kuvira even looked the same. Limbs missing? An eye, maybe? Bending completely taken away? The White Lotus had filled you in on the events of the war since you left, but what toll had it taken on the once-great Kuvira?  
"How much time do I have?"  
"There's much she wishes to discuss with you. You'll have three hours. I won't be far." Tenzin mounts his torch beside the door and takes a step back.  
You calm your breathing, steel your nerves, and thrust your arms upwards towards the concave horns. Powerful torrents of wind encircle your arms, traveling up towards your hands. You turn them slightly outwards into lotus mudras to propel the air into the pipes.  
You can feel the air course through intricate tubing, until it shoots back out through several more openings in the lower moulding of the hallway behind you, the rest hissing from the creases in the door. The interior mechanisms clunk and tumble as it unlocks. With a deep groan, the heavy door springs ajar, just enough to wedge your hand through. It's surprisingly easy to open, and does so nearly silently.  
You take a step inside.  
Behind you, Tenzin seals you securely in the cell.

There's enough moonlight in the cell to illuminate the prisoner's figure. She sits on her cot towards your direction, meditating, and much to your pleasant surprise she's not all skin and bones. Her hair is loose about her shoulders, only mildly tousled. She's so serene you don't think she notices you in her presence.  
You don't move from where you are, wasting no time to greet her.  
"No tea?"  
She opens her eyes calmly, not changing her breathing, though through the darkness you can see the shame in her eyes. They don't meet yours.  
Indeed, this was no longer The Great Uniter. This was a lost young woman, caught somewhere in the grey area between Kuvira, captain of Zaofu, and Kuvira, general of the Earth Empire. You've never seen her like this, and you almost worry that your greeting is too harsh until she speaks. "I'm surprised they actually found you. You know how to make an exit and stay gone." Her voice is hoarse and tired. "But what I'm most surprised at is that you came."  
When her eyes meet yours, they shoot pain through your very being. There is no more façade, no cold political exoskeleton. "You were right. I hurt so many... Sacrificed so much. Sacrificed everything I was, everything I believed in. I betrayed Zaofu, the kingdom, Baatar, and Suyin." Her brow furrows at the mention of the matriarch. You can tell she was her bigger concern.  
"And I hurt you. I took you for a pawn of my conquest."  
Within mere moments her eyes turn glassy and give way to flowing tears. She quickly wipes her eyes across her sleeved shoulder. You take that time to pace to where she is, sitting beside her on the cot. By that time she can once more meet your eyes, though she curls herself up further from you against the wall.  
"I am... So. Sorry." Her voice is a whisper, threatening to crack into sobs. But she holds strong.  
"So? Do you feel better now?" You keep your voice calm, nearly monotonous.  
"I have six months left until I'm released into Suyin's custody. I can't imagine how I can possibly face her."  
"You seem to be in quite the predicament. If you called me here simply to say you're sorry, I think we're done here, and I won't be your therapist. I've done everything I can."  
"I've done some thinking," Her voice returns somewhat, and she looks at you as if expecting punishment for speaking, "And maybe there is something you can do."  
You can't help but scoff.  
"Please, hear me. Spirits on high know I haven't the right nor position to ask you of anything more. But you are... and always have been, a most generous, kind person."  
"Don't butter me up. We're on the clock here."  
She pauses, carefully unfurling herself again into a lotus sitting position.  
"... I want you to open my chakras."  
You're taken back. You're taken very, very back. Not only was it an ultimate show of trust in an airbender to have them manually open another's chakras, but only the most skilled airbenders could perform such a task. "I appreciate the compliment," you laugh, "but I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. I'm sorry you wasted such time and effort on bringing me here."  
"Let me rephrase." The slight urgency in her voice hooks you. You dare to meet her eyes, and you're sorry you did. There's panic in them to match her words.  
"...... I need you. To open my chakras."  
"Or what?" You laugh to hide the nervousness swelling in your chest, "The big bad White Lotus gonna come storm in here, demanding your execution for trying to kill the Avatar? And when they take you out to the gallows you won't even be able to bend anything to save you?" As you speak, her face falls and she looks very fragile. It's mostly a jest, but hearing yourself say it, you realize the joke's nearly gone too far.  
Many people live their entire lives without opening all their chakras. Others live with only a few open. Airbending culture revolves around opening all of your chakras through meditation and non-aggressiveness. One could bend earth, air or anything else with just your root chakra -- your first chakra -- open, with no others. That is, so long as you don't let your bending go unused for too long. With constant practice, one's bending capabilities would not be hindered at all.  
But that's not to say not having all your chakras open will be your full potential. A bender with all their chakras operating at full capacity has the capability of being the world's most powerful bender, rivaling only the Avatar.  
Through solitude and meditation, Kuvira must have been able to diagnose that her chakras were blocked at all, and from which point.  
It was like you could read her mind -- the predicament was: Being incarcerated in a platinum prison for two years and thus having not used her bending for that long, Kuvira could very well lose her bending entirely. Korra might not have the heart to restore it for her.  
You keep your face and tone hard, rolling your eyes. "Ok, so the White Lotus isn't coming for your head. Why should I help save your bending? After all it was that which nearly killed me!"  
"Because of Suyin...!" Her shoulders tense up.  
"To defend yourself from the well-deserved ass-kicking she's going to dish you?"  
"To protect her!" Her voice cracks at the last word. Her eyes look rabid, though it's not more than two seconds later that they're flowing with tears and she's sobbing heartily into her hands.  
It's a haunting, heartbreaking experience. You'd nearly forgotten about the sensitive, human side to this woman, practically a comfortable stranger.  
It all made sense now. She loved Suyin. It was a love incapable of being felt towards anyone else than the woman who raised her, tutored her, nourished her, the woman who was her mother.  
"Light of Raava," You murmur, "I owe you nothing, Kuvira."  
She calms her breathing enough to hear you speak, though sobbing silently.  
"But I care about her too."  
Kuvira gulps down a sob and nods.  
"Kuvira, you'll never hear me say this to the Avatar, because it should go without saying... But you're the most powerful bender I know. I respect you. And you have the biggest heart that I know. Where that is, exactly, has been... Well in the past, questionable."  
She slowly lifts her head just enough so her eyes peek out from underneath her hair, though they're narrow, waiting for the criticism.  
It doesn't come. You continue: "I told her I'd come find her after the dust settles. But she needs to see you again first. I'll have to go back to the Southern Air Temple as soon as I'm done today. Suyin can't know I was here."  
You sigh and let your shoulders relax, realizing only now they were rather tense. "I would serve her if I could, but... You were her captain, her protege. No, her daughter. It would be better if you could be there for her now. Help her rebuild -- both the city and your relationship."  
The city of Zaofu saw an unprecidented onslaught of bandits from nearby settlements after Kuvira's surrender. Suyin would once again need a captain had she not assigned one already, and even so, none could match the resilience and heart of captain Kuvira.  
Besides, Kuvira had no army. Any plans to use her bending to the advantage of trying to re-conquer Zaofu would be suicide.  
"You would do this for me?" Her voice is thick from crying.  
"I do this for Suyin."  
Her eyes look sad but you can tell she gets it. She nods.  
You take a deep breath and instruct her to lay down, as you wish to do this before you change your mind.  
You kneel beside her on the floor so that you're level to each other. Her eyes fixate on the ceiling.  
It was certainly possible to manually open another's chakras, though forcibly from another -- that other being you -- felt almost immoral. Opening the third eye chakra, once you got to hers, was a most powerful act, revealing everything in the world as it truly is. The risk, however, is that can either be a good or bad thing. It could reveal spiritual realities such as the spirits other people cannot see. Once her next and final chakra was open, being the crown, she would be open to the cosmic knowledge around her. She would become an ultimate empath. How Kuvira would perceive her world after this, neither of you knew.  
It was a risk she felt willing to take.  
You close your eyes, reciting a number of prayers to Raava in hopes of blessing Kuvira and her chakras, and in hopes of a painless experience.  
You open your eyes. "Kuvira, we're going to be sharing the same consciousness during this. It'll be strange and difficult for you to tell where your own spirit ends and mine begins, but whatever you see or hear, whatever happens, don't fight it. It'll only make it worse. Take each sensation, acknowledge it, and dive into it. It's all part of yourself, and a part that'll need to be explored."  
She blinks, as if realizing now what she's gotten herself into. But her resolve is strong.  
"Shall we begin?"  
She takes a slow, deep breath, pausing for a few moments.  
"I'm ready."  
The two of you press on, both closing your eyes.

Your hands bring themselves to her root chakra, holding them just above the energy center near her groin. You wished to expedite the process, though not so much as to make it painful. The chakra itself was nearly stagnant, and drags terribly behind the rhythm of your hands bending the energy, slow and steady as they were. At this point you can tell this was the only active chakra, as weak as it was.  
Finally the swirling energy catches up to your speed, and you tune yourself into the essence of the chakra: The essence of everything Kuvira is. Her childhood. Her self-identity. You're so in tune with the pulse and flow of the energy within the chakra that it seems to give itself a tonal pulse within your head. Like the steady beating of a drum. You chant the syllable to purify the fear plaguing the chakra, long and slow. You feel her wince for a moment.  
You'd have assisted her with guided meditation as well to help face her challenges head-on, but with the time allotted, she would have to face them herself.  
You feel with her, to where her memories go. To her birth parents. To the resentment clouding all memory of them. 

_”I was cast aside by my own parents like I meant nothing to them! How could I just stand by and watch the same thing happen to my nation when it needed someone to guide it?“_

The childhood trauma would influence the very path she took to dictatorship and corruption. By not forgiving the past events, she would vow to protect her homeland by any means.  
You could tell this would be one of the more difficult chakras to open.

Nearly five minutes in to working with her first chakra, you can feel heat building in her body, and the beads of sweat blossoming across it.  
Suddenly something triggers in her brain, and waves of memories and repressed emotions take Kuvira by storm. She gasps, though not breaking concentration. Her chakra swirls like a hurricane, spinning nearly out of control. This was the make-or-break stage you had warned her about, and was possibly the hardest part of the experience. You work your very hardest to slow it down to a healthy pace, pleading internally with Kuvira while you keep your chanting steady: _Stay with me. Listen to my voice. Trust in Raava. Please stay with me._  
As quickly and as suddenly as it came, the storm within Kuvira had passed and she huffs out a breath in relief, her breathing returning to normal and her root chakra swirling healthily and brightly on its own. You open your eyes, but only a little, to see Kuvira weeping silently. She lets out a short laugh, though still in the meditative state, and you can tell she feels the euphoric wave wash over her that comes from opening a chakra. In doing this, the surge of energy had made its way through her sacral chakra as well, purifying her perspective on her emotional life, be it with her parents, Suyin or otherwise. The former having affected her own personal power and love, in turn purifying her solar plexus and heart chakras.  
The waves gently wash over her, and while you both retain the shared meditative state, you pause, allowing Kuvira to recollect herself. She lets herself continue to weep before you, a rare sight to see. 

Nearly ten minutes have gone by, and she is again calm, reaffirming herself before you can ask her yourself within your shared consciousness: "I'm ready."  
Now nearing closer to the final chakras, your hands diagnose the next chakra that is blocked, being the throat. Again you start the chakra flowing, gently bending the energy from just above her neck. Your concentration nearly breaks, remembering how close you had brought her to death by suffocation.  
You accept your regrets, sparing no time to diagnose yourself. And you resume.  
You chant the syllable to purify greed and possessiveness. This chakra dealt with personal security. The emotions and memories with this chakra are not as repressed from within Kuvira, so they more easily make themselves known, and not nearly as harsh. Within no time her throat chakra opens, making way now to her third eye chakra. The transition is smooth. You reposition your hands to her forehead and chant the corresponding syllable to purify pride.  
Unlike the others, this chakra is too strong and so you find yourself fighting it practically tooth and nail to calm it. But once you tap into its rhythm and begin taming it, you feel Kuvira exhale a slow breath, and her entire body relaxes. You would think she were dead, were she not still breathing. Unfamiliar brain waves take control of her consciousness, and it's only when you begin to feel parts of her body as your own that you realize, her delta brain waves are in control. These are the slowest brain waves, found present only in the deepest instances of meditation. You struggle for a moment to remember who and where you are. But you focus on your chanting. And it's a strange, cosmic sound that feels like it's coming from all around you as opposed to your own voice. 

_Kuvira. We're almost done. I can open your third eye chakra, and I can tell your crown chakra is ready to go._

_I'm ready._

You focus, with her, on the benevolence of the world as a whole. On the nature of humans, on her past decisions and how they've affected not her territories of conquest, but on the general human good. With this new insight of her opened third eye, she cleanses her ego and realizes the truth in her actions, instead of what she wanted to perceive. And with her open heart chakra she is able to forgive herself, successfully channeling the energy from all previous chakras to the top of her head into the crown chakra. Your hands follow the energy center.

Her delta brain waves intermingle fluidly with alpha waves, within the deep recesses of her mind, though ever present with, and aware of, the world around her.  
Her consciousness, your shared consciousness, expands beyond the jail cell, beyond Republic City, transcending both the real world and the spirit realm as they live together as one, and beyond the very planet. 

In a final reprise, she comes back to her seven chakras, recognizing yours, then Tenzin's just outside the cell. And to the shared consciousness of the living creatures on earth and the stars in the universe.  
It's a strange, interstellar journey that you take with her, as you took it yourself when you first opened your chakras. 

At this point she's on the final leg of her journey, simply riding out where her consciousness takes her, and you're at a safe point to remove yourself from her consciousness. All of her chakras, from the root to the crown, operate fully and at optimal rhythms with each other.  
You gently bring your chanting to a stop, finding yourself as an individual consciousness, lift your hands from Kuvira's body and open your eyes.

Never had you seen a more blissful, enlightened being, so much you forget she's a prisoner in Republic City. She lay perfectly still save for her breathing, which is as deep and slow as the rhythm of the universe. This was no prisoner, no tyrant, but who seemed to be Guru Laghima incarnate.  
You're certain Kuvira would be levitating had she been an airbender. 

So you sit, patiently, and wait for her to return from her interstellar trance.  
You wait half an hour.  
You wait an hour.  
You wait an hour and a half.  
You wait just over two hours, worrying that she'll still be out cold when your three hours are up.  
As soon as anxiety begins to creep in, she exhales audibly through her nose, takes a quick breath in and opens her eyes, fully conscious.  
Her eyes scan the ceiling and she sits up smoothly, facing the end of the cot.  
"Kuvira?" You call her name, though gently as to not startle her.  
She opens her mouth to speak, but she is speechless for a few moments. "... I understand." She turns to face you. "I.... I saw what I've done. I saw everything. But I know what to do to fix it now. And I know how to do it."  
Her voice is as pure and innocent as the day you met her.  
"I'm going back to Zaofu, and I'm going to show Suyin that I've atoned for what I've done. For her. For the city. And together we'll lift the people back up and rebuild, using what I've learned, not because I know who I am, but... because I know who I'm not. I'm not a dictator. I know not to do those things now. And there's still a lot I've yet to learn."  
You never thought you'd hear such words from Kuvira, humble as they were, but it inspires hope in you the likes of which you hadn't felt in years.  
From your pocket you fish out a small, smooth rock. It's no bigger than your thumb. Kuvira sees this, and she's almost surprised when you take her hands and press it gently to her palms.  
"It's not like you're going to be able to break out with it," You laugh. "It'll serve you well not to get too rusty. For Suyin."  
She gazes at the rock resting in her hands as if it were a diamond, then cups it securely, holding it closer to her chest. "Suyin," She echoes you, a hopeful light in her eyes, almost seeming to blush at the matriarch's name.  
The two of you share a warm gaze, and you can tell she's more than grateful. Not a moment later is there a rush of air from beyond the cell door.  
It's Tenzin, and he's unlocking it.  
Kuvira swiftly and silently pockets the rock in her slacks. "... Thank you for everything."  
You automatically cup her cheek with one hand, only able to attest it as something you had picked up from Suyin. It's not a normal gesture you show towards others.  
But Kuvira recognizes it, both as yourself and from Suyin. She leans into it, meeting your hand with hers.  
The heavy door opens without effort from Tenzin, who announces the three hours have passed.  
It's time you return to the Southern Air Temple.  
You bid Kuvira goodbye, at least until you see her again in Zaofu. With a chaste, friendly kiss to her forehead and glassy yet grateful eyes in return, you see yourself out of the cell.  
You congratulate yourself. You'd never have thought it possible to heal Kuvira after her losses, nor did you think it possible for her to open her eyes to the true nature of her actions. With proper, regular meditation, as you knew she always followed as it was, her chakras would remain pure and functional. 

\----------------

The beginning of the new year welcomes Kuvira back into the custody of Suyin Beifong and the city of Zaofu. By airship she arrives in the early morning, flanked by four White Lotus members. She is shackled by the hands and feet in platinum, but so that she can walk on her own. You walk as a spirit nearby, unseeable, keeping yourself hidden while your physical self meditates at the Southern Air Temple.  
The petals to the city and its surrounding terraces open, allowing Kuvira and the guards to proceed. Trailing close by you feel the confidence radiating from Kuvira. But it's not steely as The Great Uniter was, carrying herself through the city like its queen. Instead she braces herself for what she only assumes will be angry mobs out for her head, and an unmerciful Suyin. The same masses of citizens and the same woman she threatened not two years ago.  
But the streets are peaceful. Households timidly take to the streets to meet her, at least to watch from a safe distance despite the shackles holding her. Most wouldn't leave their property.  
Kuvira keeps her eyes forward, proceeding to the Beifong estate. You feel your pulse race with hers, though your concentration holds.  
What of Suyin? You hadn't thought to check up on her nor her family since you left Zaofu, fearing it would only bring you pain.  
The crowd of people thickens as you near the city square. Some expressions hint at vengeful, others excited, others yet still terrified of the woman. Kuvira's name is hushed among groups, more so than The Great Uniter's.  
One voice stands out from the crowd more than any other, and it's Suyin's. She's met Kuvira halfway to the estate, already at the steps of the city center. And she's delivering a speech to the people. Finally you see her, surrounded and encompassed by her citizens when the line of residential buildings breaks. The following crowd parts for Kuvira, allowing her approach, though timid.  
Suyin continues: "... welcomed back not as one who would seek to govern you, but instead serving you all, under my custody and to make amends for her past actions." As you draw closer, Suyin's gaze falls to Kuvira, and without a change in expression, steps down from the microphones at the stairs, seeming to glide to where Kuvira is. The spectators give an even wider berth for the matriarch, and fall completely silent. Even you fall back from where you walked beside the guards, feeling the tension of the entire crowd at your back mixed with your own. Your heart races, and you can't imagine how Kuvira is holding up. She stands, perfectly still and at attention like a soldier before Suyin. She doesn't dare meet the matriarch's eyes, only letting her eyes fall to the woman's metal necklace plates. Kuvira still has a good few inches on her, as well as a more muscular build, though you can tell they both seem to disregard that.  
Suyin's expression is cold, empty almost, and it bores into Kuvira's eyes.  
Kuvira looks about ready to cry. Her head trembles ever slightly.  
Suyin looks about ready to crush her with the weight of the town center building.  
In the next instant the woman takes Kuvira around her neck into a hug as if holding on for dear life. It yields an "Oomph-!" from the girl, dumbfounded and beside herself in that moment, tears rolling down her cheeks in the next. She doesn't find it in her to even blink nor close her mouth, still agape.  
There's a collective gasp from spots among the crowd and inquisitive chatter from the rest.  
"Welcome home dear," Suyin's voice is thick, but soft by Kuvira's ear.  
The chains on the girl's wrists prevent a proper hug in return, so instead she finds Suyin's waist to pull herself closer. There she sobs, soaking Suyin's shoulder in tears.  
"Please, unchain her. They're not necessary."  
Obeying the matriarch's request, each White Lotus officer produces a key from their robes and unlocks a cuff from Kuvira's arms and legs. The chains clunk awkwardly to the ground. She steps back for a moment, examining her freed wrists, wiping her tears away. Then for the first time in years, locks eyes with Suyin. And with a shaky but passionate tone, she speaks.  
"Suyin Beifong, I vow until my dying breath to protect you. To serve you and the people of Zaofu, and to maintain the balance between our city and the rest of the world."  
"I know you will. You've made me so proud, Kuvira. You always have."  
"I've... I've hurt you. I've hurt your family. So much."  
"You were lost on your path. As was I. But I promise you, we'll make it better. I want to be a better mother for you."  
Kuvira takes a breath. "Then you will."  
Suyin beams, redirecting her attention to the crowd. She raises her voice, but just enough so the masses can hear her: "There are many a road to forgiveness, and I encourage each and every one of you to find your own path. Starting today I place my trust and my faith in Kuvira. She will do our city good, I can assure you all of that. Here, she is home. And here today I feel our family is finally complete."  
Kuvira bows smoothly at the waist. With reciprocation from Suyin, the crowd, now with tensions eased, cheers in unison.  
It would seem, after all, that Suyin heeded your advice.

You bring your attention back to your own consciousness, finding yourself once more at the Southern Air Temple.  
You smile to yourself, wipe away a tear that had sneaked itself down to your cheek, and take your time in packing the essentials for your journey home to Zaofu.


End file.
